2018 6 Nations preview – France

France come into the 6 Nations ranked 8th in the world, and off a very mixed 2017. With just three wins from eleven, including a shocking draw against Japan at home in Paris, French rugby is not in a happy place. So what are their prospects for the 2018 6 Nations?

France’s poor 2017

It doesn’t look great to be honest. France are only predicted to win one of their five games, against Italy at home.

France are predicted to have an abysmal 6 Nations

France are a hard team to predict, and although their recent results have been fairly dire, we find it hard to believe that they will lose all these games by the predicted margin. France generally are a big, solid team, and even when playing badly are hard to put away completely. Despite similar form going into last years 6 Nations they still won three from five and, but for a failed last minute clearance kick, would have beaten England in Twickenham – had they won that game, they would have won the whole tournament. Fine margins.

Ireland have a terrible record in Paris, winning only two games there since 2000, so it is likely that that game will be a little closer than predicted, but we still feel confident of an Irish win. After that game it might be easier to get a grip on where France are and perhaps make some more confident predictions.

However, if we had to stick our neck out right now, we’d back the results shown, perhaps just with some slightly closer scorelines. And if there was to be an upset, we feel it most likely to come against Wales in the final game.